Sunshine Chevrolet opens new location

Don Elliott, owner of Sunshine Chevrolet, stands at the dealership's new location on Long Shoals Road Wednesday afternoon.

MIKE DIRKS/TIMES-NEWS

By NANCY TANKERTimes-News Staff Writer

Published: Thursday, January 9, 2014 at 4:30 a.m.

Last Modified: Wednesday, January 8, 2014 at 4:38 p.m.

In keeping with its namesake, sunshine flooded the new showroom of Sunshine Chevrolet on Wednesday as workers put the final touches on the new building in anticipation of its grand opening Thursday.

The company recently completed construction of its new 32,000-square-foot, state-of-the-art building in Arden off I-26 at Long Shoals Road.

“We were on Asheville Highway in Fletcher in a building that had some parts of it that were 100 years old, and it was dark and was not what the buying public deserves in this day and age,” said Sunshine Chevrolet owner Don Elliott, standing in the middle of his new showroom. “In this new location, everything is bright and open and customer-centric.”

Elliott purchased the dealership from the Youngblood family five years ago, when the dealership was ChevySouth of Fletcher. The dealership had been in the Asheville Highway location since 1930, he said.

A former General Motors employee and a Chevrolet dealer in Texas since 1978, Elliott purchased the dealership and renamed it Sunshine Chevrolet in November of 2008. The company sells about 100 new or used cars a month.

“One of the reasons I named it Sunshine Chevrolet is that we wanted to set a very positive, customer-focused environment,” he said. “Buying a car or having your car serviced can be stressful enough. We want our customers to experience transparency and excellent service.”

The new showroom is mostly glass, with wide hallways — one dubbed Sunshine Boulevard — and open seating areas.

“We don't have waiting rooms,” Elliott explained. “We have customer relaxation areas.” There are three such areas within the building, one of which is a coffee bar where customers can have a cup of Starbucks coffee.

Or, if customers prefer, the Sunshine Express bus leaves every hour for nearby Biltmore Park Town Square, where they can catch a movie, exercise at the YMCA or do some shopping while their car is being serviced.

“Nobody I know offers a service like that,” Elliott said.

The new dealership also has an automatic car wash, where all serviced vehicles are washed if customers wish. Detailing services are also available. A new 18-bay service area is temperature-controlled, Elliott said, with high-speed garage doors that help the dealership maintain a level temperature for employee comfort.

“Right over there is one of our guys working in a T-shirt,” Elliott said, pointing to one of the dealership's roughly 40 employees. “Yesterday it was about 4 degrees and he was working in a T-shirt then, too. We think highly of our service technicians and their comfort is important to us. They have a separate new break room with a separate area for them to do their training on computers. We do a lot of training here at Sunshine Chevrolet.”

Free Wi-Fi is available throughout the building for employees and customers. The dealership provides high-definition televisions and a glass-enclosed playroom for customers with children.

“We're going to have a sound-activated LED wall in there soon, too,” Elliott said. “Even if the TV is on, the child's voice can activate an LED projection of lights” to entertain them.”

Customers arriving to the showroom's main service bays are greeted by doors that automatically open so that they can drive into a temperature-controlled building. “Our customers are out of the elements right away and in a comfortable area where they can be greeted and we can take care of their needs,” Elliott said.

Reflecting on his 40-plus years in the car business, with two additional dealerships currently operating in Texas, Elliott said he has seen big changes in the car industry.

“It's been an import-centric market for the past two decades, but we are seeing a big change now,” he said. “Is the Titanic going to turn on a dime? No. But we are seeing more and more customers turning in their Toyotas and buying Chevys.”

Sunshine Chevrolet's new service and showroom is located at 100 Thunderland Circle in Arden. For more information, call 800-917-5968 or visit www.sunshinechevy.com.

<p>In keeping with its namesake, sunshine flooded the new showroom of Sunshine Chevrolet on Wednesday as workers put the final touches on the new building in anticipation of its grand opening Thursday. </p><p>The company recently completed construction of its new 32,000-square-foot, state-of-the-art building in Arden off I-26 at Long Shoals Road. </p><p>“We were on Asheville Highway in Fletcher in a building that had some parts of it that were 100 years old, and it was dark and was not what the buying public deserves in this day and age,” said Sunshine Chevrolet owner Don Elliott, standing in the middle of his new showroom. “In this new location, everything is bright and open and customer-centric.”</p><p>Elliott purchased the dealership from the Youngblood family five years ago, when the dealership was ChevySouth of Fletcher. The dealership had been in the Asheville Highway location since 1930, he said. </p><p>A former General Motors employee and a Chevrolet dealer in Texas since 1978, Elliott purchased the dealership and renamed it Sunshine Chevrolet in November of 2008. The company sells about 100 new or used cars a month.</p><p>“One of the reasons I named it Sunshine Chevrolet is that we wanted to set a very positive, customer-focused environment,” he said. “Buying a car or having your car serviced can be stressful enough. We want our customers to experience transparency and excellent service.”</p><p>The new showroom is mostly glass, with wide hallways — one dubbed Sunshine Boulevard — and open seating areas. </p><p>“We don't have waiting rooms,” Elliott explained. “We have customer relaxation areas.” There are three such areas within the building, one of which is a coffee bar where customers can have a cup of Starbucks coffee. </p><p>Or, if customers prefer, the Sunshine Express bus leaves every hour for nearby Biltmore Park Town Square, where they can catch a movie, exercise at the YMCA or do some shopping while their car is being serviced. </p><p>“Nobody I know offers a service like that,” Elliott said.</p><p>The new dealership also has an automatic car wash, where all serviced vehicles are washed if customers wish. Detailing services are also available. A new 18-bay service area is temperature-controlled, Elliott said, with high-speed garage doors that help the dealership maintain a level temperature for employee comfort. </p><p>“Right over there is one of our guys working in a T-shirt,” Elliott said, pointing to one of the dealership's roughly 40 employees. “Yesterday it was about 4 degrees and he was working in a T-shirt then, too. We think highly of our service technicians and their comfort is important to us. They have a separate new break room with a separate area for them to do their training on computers. We do a lot of training here at Sunshine Chevrolet.”</p><p>Free Wi-Fi is available throughout the building for employees and customers. The dealership provides high-definition televisions and a glass-enclosed playroom for customers with children. </p><p>“We're going to have a sound-activated LED wall in there soon, too,” Elliott said. “Even if the TV is on, the child's voice can activate an LED projection of lights” to entertain them.”</p><p>Customers arriving to the showroom's main service bays are greeted by doors that automatically open so that they can drive into a temperature-controlled building. “Our customers are out of the elements right away and in a comfortable area where they can be greeted and we can take care of their needs,” Elliott said. </p><p>Reflecting on his 40-plus years in the car business, with two additional dealerships currently operating in Texas, Elliott said he has seen big changes in the car industry. </p><p>“It's been an import-centric market for the past two decades, but we are seeing a big change now,” he said. “Is the Titanic going to turn on a dime? No. But we are seeing more and more customers turning in their Toyotas and buying Chevys.”</p><p>Sunshine Chevrolet's new service and showroom is located at 100 Thunderland Circle in Arden. For more information, call 800-917-5968 or visit www.sunshinechevy.com.</p><p>Reach Tanker at 828-694-7871 or nancy.tanker@blueridgenow.com.</p>